Advance Warnings
by starbook
Summary: Hermione befriends a muggle girl who reads the HP series and is able to warn Hermione what not to do. Will things go wrong? FLAMES WELCOME! If you don't like my story, please tell me so that I can know whether to delete or not! Better summary inside.
1. Ann

**Disclaimer: Anything recognized belongs to J.K. Rowling. Ann's mine, though!**

**Better summary: Hermione meets a Muggle girl before she goes to Hogwarts and the Muggle girl reads the Harry Potter series, but Hermione can't for some odd reason. Things turn out differently because the Muggle girl warns Hermione of things she should and should not do. But havoc still ensues! This story is way better than it sounds.**

**Hermione's POV:**

I was so excited! I had just received my letter confirming my acceptance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! My excitement level was so high, in fact, that my usual worries didn't start until we were in London.

"But Mum, what if I'm not smart enough and they realize they've made a mistake and send me back?" I asked my mother for the seventeenth time today.

"Hermione, don't worry, everything will be fine," my dad said firmly.

My parents were surprised when I got my letter because up until that moment, they had had no idea that wizards and witches existed. As soon as I read the letter (I had read it before my parents), I knew that it must be true because all of the books that I had read confirmed that such people might exist, though people might be scornful about it, and the official-looking letter itself convinced me as well that this wasn't some sort of practical joke. All of the students in my year at my previous school hadn't had much imagination, so they definitely couldn't have cooked this up. Someone older would have been to busy (or, at least, they should be). And I suppose part of the reason I believed the letter from Hogwarts so easily was because I _wanted_ to believe it. I wasn't liked very much at my old school; the students kept saying that I had my head in the clouds too often (but like I said earlier, they don't have good imaginations so are not willing to believe the seemingly impossible) or that I was too much of a know-it-all. It took a bit of time to convince my parents that the letter was real and that these people did in fact exist. However, once they saw that I was set on my views, they became set with me. My parents have always trusted me.

Actually, they've been taking it rather well...

In my musings of the past week or so, I didn't look where I was going and bumped into one of the very many people in the crowded streets of non-magical London.

"Oops, I'm so sorry!" I gasped as a girl was knocked to the cobblestones. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," said the girl, and as she stood up, I noticed that she looked around my age, although she was a little shorter than I was. "I don't mean to be rude, but what's that you're carrying? It looks interesting, like it came from an entirely different civilization that none of us knows about. Can I have a look?"

This girl took me completely off guard. Never, ever since I got that fateful letter which I was carrying in my hands, had I met anyone with as much capacity to believe, or anyone who was so close to the mark. When I got the letter, I had done all the research I could do although not a single person I knew on the street was a witch or wizard. I had found out from one particular dusty, old-looking book that non-magical people were called Muggles. Wizards and witches tried their hardest to prevent Muggles from learning about them, and it worked reasonably well. This girl was obviously a Muggle or else she would have known the source of the letter. Hogwarts was a very famous and academically elite school of magic, I had read in the same book. I was so flabbergasted by the girl that I blurted out without thinking –

"S-sure. What's your name?"

And I handed the letter over to her.

Immediately, I realized that I had done something very stupid, but I couldn't just snatch it away from her and I didn't yet know any spells. To put spells in Muggle books would be very dangerous, obviously.

"My name's Ann. Ann Walters. And here." She handed the letter back to me. _Wow,_ I thought, stunned. _Even I don't read that quickly!_ "Are there really witches and wizards?" Before I could get to lying, though, she answered her own question. "I suppose there are. It would make sense. After all, they _are_ hinted at in almost every book I've read." I was beginning to like Ann immensely. "So you're a witch. What's your name, anyway?"

"Hermione...um, Byfield." It was the first name that came to mind, the name of a girl at my old school who was my friend...sometimes.

"Right. So anything but Byfield, then." Ann grinned. "Walters really is my last name, you know. Anyways, can we keep in touch? I wouldn't tell anyone about you. We could be friends."

I thought for a moment, and decided that it wouldn't hurt. After all, my parents were both Muggles and if this girl said she wouldn't tell anyone...

But I had to make sure.

"Ann, I swear, if you tell anyone I will put a terrible hex on you." When I learned one.

"I know," Ann said cheerfully. "I'm not stupid, you know. Here's my address." And she handed me a piece of paper with her address on it. She had already written it down.

"Er, thanks. I'll write to you soon, then." I made to walk away, but the stopped. "Ann...you shouldn't wonder if the post comes in an unusual way. You aren't afraid of birds, are you?"

"No, of course not. And I was expecting something like that. Hear from you soon!"

And she disappeared into the crowd.

My parents, who had been in a pub called The Leaky Cauldron, came out looking excited.

"Hermione, we've found the entrance to the magical world, finally! The barman, Tom I think his name was, told us where to go. About time, too! Come on!"

And we entered The Leaky Cauldron.

**Okay, dear readers, this is it! My first ever Harry Potter fanfic! Read the summary at the top, please! It's much better than the one you've already read! Updating may take a while because I need to get the Harry Potter books and I don't have all of them. But don't worry, I will! I am a faithful updater! Please review!**


	2. Diagon Alley

**Disclaimer: Anything recognized belongs to J.K. Rowling.**

**Hermione's POV:**

Tom the bartender was in the doorway, beckoning to us. "Come in, come in," he said. "You're one of the last people coming to Hogwarts to come here this week. You'll have to hurry because the train leaves today. Here's your ticket," he said to me, and handed me a rectangular slip of paper. "Are you _sure_ you know which brick to tap?" he asked my parents in a hushed tone.

"We're sure, thank you," said my dad. He didn't seem to mind that Tom seemed to think him incompetent because he wasn't a wizard. Then, in a lower voice, "the third brick from the left above the dumpster, right?"

"That's the one," said Tom. "Just pass along through here, then." He seemed eager to get my parents out of the pub. Maybe he didn't often have Muggles in The Leaky Cauldron.

Once we stepped out of the pub, we came to face a solid brick wall with the promised dumpster leaning up against it. But then Tom came rushing out.

"I'm so sorry; you'll need a wand to do this. I forgot." And he took out a long, black wand and tapped a brick.

Immediately, the bricks started to pull apart from each other to form a space to pass through. "Good luck!" called Tom before disappearing inside the pub again. It sounded like he meant it.

We walked slowly, hesitantly, through the space. I was amazed at the sight before me. The people walking here were obviously withes and wizards. They were dressed in cloaks and pointed hats, and some carried things that were not seen in the Muggle world. I saw a boy around my age carrying a toad in his hands and looking like he was having difficulty holding on to it. Mum took the letter from my hands and checked it.

"Alright, so the first thing we need to do is establish a fund at Gringotts. I think that's the wizard bank," she said. We walked along the street, and soon I saw a sign telling me that this was Diagon Alley. A little further along, we came to a majestic-looking building. This was Gringotts.

The first thing I noticed, as we entered, was that Gringotts seemed to be run by goblins. I knew that they were goblins because there was an illustration of one in one of the books I'd read. _Of course,_ I thought. _Goblins are part of the security of Gringotts. _

We approached one of the goblins at a desk. My parents looked a little apprehensive, so I stepped forward.

"Hello, I'd like to make an account. I'm a witch, but my parents are Muggles, so..."

The goblin leered at me. "You seem to know quite a bit for someone new to the wizarding world."

"I've read some books, sir. There weren't many that I could find, for security reasons obviously, but I read what I could. I think it's good if you go into a new place knowing at least_ something_ about it."

"Very well," said the goblin. "You may go to the Muggle Exchange Office over there." He pointed to my left. "But be warned. If you try to rob this place, something more terrible than you have ever read will happen to you."

I thanked him and beckoned to my parents. I felt myself wondering why that goblin had given me that extra warning. There was already one engraved at the entrance. Had there been a recent robbery?

"You were so _brave,_" Mum was saying to me. "I was tongue-tied at the sight of him, but you just went up and took charge, Hermione. I'm so proud of you. You will be a great achiever at this new school, I know you will be."

"Thanks Mum."

We got to the Muggle Exchange Office where another goblin looked at us coldly. I stepped forward again.

"We were sent to you by another goblin back there," I said. My words were coming out all in a rush. "I suppose we need to exchange our money for yours and put it into a vault?"

"You know a lot," the goblin hissed at me. "Be careful. You might find that that knowledge gets you into trouble." Then, abruptly, he turned to my parents. "Let's see the money."

My parents shakily pulled out some money. Mum dropped some on the floor and I hastily picked it up for her. She gave me a grateful smile before turning to the goblin.

"H-here it is."

The goblin looked at it carefully and then pulled out a wand and tapped it. It glowed bright blue for a second and then the glow faded.

"It seems genuine. But be warned that Gringotts goblins are not easy to fool."

_What was going on?_

After being escorted to my vault by another angry goblin down a dark, eerie passageway underground and retrieving some money from it, we returned to the sunshine of Diagon Alley. We went and bought most of my school supplies and then it was time to get me a wand.

"Oh my goodness! This shop goes back to B.C.!" Dad exclaimed. "What a historical find!"

"Ollivander has been a famous wand-maker for a long time, Dad," I explained patiently. "I read it in a book."

We entered the shop and I found my wand on the first try: a twelve-inch one made of elder wood and dragon heartstring. **(A/N: Correct me if I'm wrong, remember, I don't have the books!)** After Mr. Ollivander promised me that I would make a very clever witch with that wand, we entered Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlor. As I finished my ice cream, I looked at my ticket for the first time.

"It says to get on Platform 9 ¾," I said quietly. "I don't suppose they've made a mistake..."

"Don't worry, Hermione, you've always been a clever girl," said Dad brightly. "You'll find it. But –" he looked at the time. "Hermione, we have to leave _now!_ We have to be at King's Cross soon! It's almost ten o'clock!"

It was a good thing that my parents and I are early risers.

I hurriedly finished the rest of my ice-cream and rushed with Mum and Dad back to the barrier. It didn't appear to exist for people coming out of Diagon Alley. I must have looked very strange carrying a trolley full of magical items, but I didn't pay attention to that fact just then.

When we finally made it to King's Cross, we were early. I rushed to Platforms 9 and 10 and looked around. Mum and Dad had already left; they had dropped me off at the station. I knew better than to ask the personnel – they knew as much about it as my parents, no doubt.

And then, I saw a girl about my age with long brown hair marching with a trolley similar to mine _straight through_ the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10.

Feeling like an idiot, I did the same, making sure that no Muggles were watching. I was surprised when I entered a whole new platform which, to my relief, had a sign saying 'Platform 9 ¾' on it. A scarlet train was waiting at the station, but there was hardly a soul on the platform, I was so early. I boarded the train and changed into my robes in a spare compartment. They felt good on me. Then, I sat down in the compartment and thought.

_Why were the goblins so hostile?_ I knew for a fact from the books that I had read that they were not the nicest of creatures, but not _that_ angry. There must have been a major break-in. And yet...Gringotts would probably not allow anyone in if anything had been stolen. So what had happened?

It was a mystery that I would reserve for later. I picked up _The Standard Book of Spells: Grade One_ and started to read.

**Sorry, guys, have to end here. But I will update soon! There will be more of a plot as the story goes on. Sorry if anything is inaccurate. Please review! I **_**need**_** more reviews!!!!!!!!!!**


	3. The Train

**Disclaimer: Anything recognized belongs to J. K. Rowling.**

**Hermione's POV:**

It felt like I had just started reading _A History of Magic_ when my compartment door opened.

"Hi," a boy said breathlessly, and I recognized him as the one with the toad from Diagon Alley. "I saw you in Diagon Alley, and you seemed like a clever sort of person. Well, it's not that big of an achievement to be cleverer than I am. Anyway, I've lost my toad, Trevor. I've been round the compartments and no one's seen him, but people _love_ to play jokes on me. I think they would listen to you better. Would you please help me look for him?" This was said all in a rush.

I felt a little sorry for him. It was clear that he didn't have a good memory and that he was at a loss of what to do. He seemed to really need my help. "Alright," I said. "Lead the way."

We started down the corridor. "What's your name?" I asked politely.

"Neville. Neville Longbottom. Here's the first compartment." He opened a door to a compartment consisting of twins with red hair and freckles and another boy with dreadlocks about their age.

"You again?" asked one of the twins. "We've already told you we haven't seen a toad. I'm sure he'll turn up. Check the next compartment. We were just about to see Lee's giant tarantula again."

I suddenly felt very defensive.

"Don't be mean, we were just checking again, weren't we, Neville?" I asked, turning to Neville. "There's no harm in double-checking, is there?"

The twin who had spoken looked at me. "Who are you?"

"Hermione Granger. And you?"

"I'm George Weasley, and this is my brother, Fred. That guy over there who won't show us his tarantula just because we've already seen it," he paused, "is Lee Jordan."

"I can introduce myself, thanks! And you've asked to see it five times already!"

Before the fight got too bad, I closed the compartment door. "Let's try the next one," I said brightly.

The second and third compartments passed in the same manner, and no one seemed to have seen the toad. Suddenly, I thought of something.

"Which houses are there at Hogwarts, Neville? I hope I get into the right one."

"Well, Gran says that there's Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Hufflepuff. Gryffindor's for really brave people and Ravenclaw's full of smart ones, which means I can at least rule one house out." Neville sighed unhappily. "Gran says that Slytherin's a bad lot and that she'll disown me if I get in there. And Hufflepuffs are cheerful but not too bright. Maybe I'll get to be in Hufflepuff."

This made me feel even sorrier for Neville.

"I think I'd like Ravenclaw, but there are qualities that a person can have other than cleverness. So I think I'd like to be in Gryffindor."

The fourth compartment was empty except for one girl who looked asleep, so we didn't disturb her. But the fifth consisted of two boys, and one of them had the same red hair and freckles as the twins that we had met earlier. The other had untidy black hair and green eyes covered by glasses. He looked strangely familiar; though I was sure I hadn't met him before.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," I said. The red-haired boy looked annoyed. I noticed that he had his wand out.

"We've already told him we haven't seen it," he complained. I barely heard him. I was excited to see a real spell for the first time, other than the glowing blue Muggle money in Gringotts and the bricks in Diagon Alley.

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." I sat down, but Neville stayed in the doorway, looking awkwardly around at nothing in particular.

"Er – all right." said the red-haired boy. He cleared his throat and said:

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,

Turn this stupid fat rat yellow."

It was then that I noticed a rat was in his lap. This rat, however, did not turn yellow or any other colour.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" I asked. I doubted it. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me." This was true. After I had gotten my wand, I had started into another of my schoolbooks and had tried some on our way to King's Cross. I kept a low profile, of course. "Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard – I've learnt all our set books off by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough – I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"

It was true that I had learnt all the set books off by heart. It was something that I did every year. I saw the green-eyed boy look at the twins' brother. They both had stunned faces, but I couldn't make out why.

"I'm Ron Weasley," the red-haired one muttered. _Of course,_ I thought, _Weasley. That's the last name of the twins._ But before I could really think that through, the black-haired boy said his name.

"Harry Potter," he said.

Now I knew why he looked so familiar – I had seen his picture in the dusty brown book. I had read about him in a couple others as well.

"Are you really?" I inquired. "I know all about you, of course – I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in _Modern Magical History_ and _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts_ and _Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century._" The titles of the books that I'd read suddenly came back to me. It seemed easy to talk to Ron and Harry.

"Am I?' asked Harry. I was taken aback.

"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," I said, astonished. "Do either of you know what house you'll be in?" I didn't know how the house placement was determined. "I've been asking around and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best, I hear Dumbledore himself was one, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad..." I'd read about Dumbledore: he was also in _Modern Magical History _about finding the twelve uses of dragon blood. He was more famous than even Harry.

"Anyway, we'd better go look for Neville's toad." I noticed then that they were still in everyday clothes. "You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."

I joined Neville outside in the corridor. His face had a look of incredulity on it.

"Do you _always_ babble when talking to other people?" Then he realized what he'd said. "I didn't mean to be rude..."

"Did I babble?" I asked carelessly. I was thinking of meeting Harry Potter on the train and that I would soon see Albus Dumbledore.

Neville nodded and then looked down. "Oh, I think I'd better change into my robes, too," he said. "I don't think Trevor's in any of the other compartments."

And he disappeared into the crowd.

I had already read all of my books, so I went up to the front to ask the driver about the remaining length of the trip.

"How much more time until we get to Hogwarts?"

"We'll be there soon," he said, and turned back to face the front.

I turned around and walked back to where I had come from, meaning to go back to my compartment. As I passed Harry and Ron's, the door opened and three boys slouched out of it. They looked like they had just been in a fight and did not look happy. I decided to check in on the other two. I needed to get into a compartment because people had just started racing up and down the corridor and I wanted to get out of the way. I opened the door.

"What _has_ been going on?" I asked. I looked at the chocolate frogs, every-flavour beans and cauldron cakes which were now all over the compartment floor and then at Ron's rat, which Ron was holding by the tail. It looked knocked out, but it could have been asleep.

Ron, instead of answering me, turned to Harry. "I think he's been knocked out. No – I don't believe it – he's gone back to sleep." He turned his gaze from the rat to Harry again. "You've met Malfoy before?"

I had no idea who this Malfoy was, but Ron seemed to say his name with vengeance.

Harry, ignoring me like Ron, told some complicated story of meeting Malfoy in Diagon Alley. When he'd finished, Ron's expression had become even darker than before.

"I've heard of his family. They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side." He then seemed to notice me for the first time. "Can we help you with something?"

"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on," – for I'd noticed that they still hadn't put them on – "I've just been up the front to ask the driver and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you?" Again, I looked at the spilled sweets. "You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"

"Scabbers has been fighting, not us," scowled Ron. _Oh,_ I thought, _Scabbers must be his rat. _"Would you mind leaving us while we change?" He looked angry.

I was mad. First he ignored me along with Harry and now he was angry at me for no reason. "All right – I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," I sniffed sourly. "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?" I said to Ron. Then I marched out to the corridor and into my compartment to collect my books.

But then a voice sounded in the train. "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minute's time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

This statement brought butterflies to my stomach. _What if I don't know enough? What if I fail everything? What if I get in trouble and have to get detention?_ Shaking, I went out into the corridor again and followed the crowd of students out of the train. For it had stopped by this time.

I stepped out on to a small platform. The first thing I noticed was how cold it was. These thoughts were driven out of my head when a lamp came towards us. It took a few seconds before my eyes could focus on the face of the individual carrying the lamp. He was twice as tall as any grown man and quite wide as well. _He must be a giant,_ I thought, and then immediately corrected myself._ Giants are bigger than that...he must be only a half-giant._

"Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here!" the giant was calling. I heard him say something else that I couldn't quite catch and then more calls to the first years of a similar kind. Soon, I found myself stumbling along with everyone else, following the lamp. The lamp went down a steep, thin path which turned around a sharp bend. I gasped when I turned this bend as well.

The path had turned into a lake. On the other side of the lake was a mountain, and on top of that mountain was Hogwarts. This was a big castle with a lot of towers and turrets. _Oh no! How am I going to find my way around a castle this big and not be late for class?_ My worries started again.

"No more'n four to a boat!" the giant instructed, pointing to some boats on our side of the lake. I got into one with Ron, Harry and Neville. Once everyone was in, the giant called "Forward!" in a loud voice and the boats began to move across the water.

**Ending here! Next chapter will be up soon and we'll hear more of Ann, I promise. I finally have access to the first book! REVIEW!!!**


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